Object of the Day: An Antique Dutch Landscape

Dutch painters have always had a remarkable ability to produce very organic scenes which dance with gem-like colors. Many Dutch artists rendered light and shadow with a masterful hand. This early Nineteenth Century Dutch landscape painting is further evidence of that.


While this painting’s signature is illegible, we can tell that it is Dutch in origin by the pattern of the craquelure and the color of the canvas on the reverse. The patina of the stretcher boards and unpainted areas of canvas match with again patterns of Dutch paintings as they’ve taken on the rich copper color associated with similar works of the same age from The Netherlands.

The scene is a typically Dutch pastoral composition of a stream and mill. Fanciful mountains rise against an aquamarine sky which has been made all the more vivid by the presence of autumnal trees—their leaves bright red and orange in contrast to the coolness of the horizon and the shimmering water.

The colors of this painting are astoundingly vivid given its age. Composed of tiny, precise brushstrokes, the artist displays a remarkable control and knowledge of his or her medium. Paintings such as this were designed to soothe the viewer by capturing fleeting natural moments which could be appreciated forever.